Coal-distributing apparatus.



S. B. FLEMING.

GOAL DISTRIBUTING APPARATUS. APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 1907.

924,332. Patented June 8,1909. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

S. B. FLBMING. GOAL DISTBIBUTING APPARATUS. APPLIoA'rIoII FILED JUNE s, 1907.

Patntea June 8,1909.

y 1 Apparatus,

' by means of tration.

SAMUEL BQ FLEMING, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

COAL-DISTRIBUTIN G APPARATUS.

Specification o! Letters Patent. Application ledj'une 6, 1907. 'Serial No. 377,613.

Patented June s, 1909.

To all whom 'it may concern: y

. Be it known that I, SAMUEL B. FLEMING, a c1t1zen of the United States, residing at Chlcago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and, useful Improvements in Coal-Distributing of which the following is a speciicatlon.

This invention relates more particularly to apparatus used for distributlng coal on the long fire banks which are formed in burning ballast or the like.

` In burnin ballast, a lire is built' on a clay bank alongside of a railway track and then coal and clay are alternately piled on the bank. The clayis ordinarily put in place suitable mechanism operated from cars runnin along the track, and heretofore the coa has usually been conveyed by means of a conveyerto a platform out over the lire, and then distributed by means of hand shovelers. This shoveling is diflicult and' arduous, as the shovelers are over, or adjacent to `the fire -and are subjected to the heat and smoke arising from the bank.

lI am aware that it has been heretofore proposed to distribute coal by mechanical means; but so far, no practicable plan seems to have been devised. v l

It is t-he object of this invention to provide simple andeiicient mechanical means for distributing the coal onto the bank without the aid of shovelers. `I accomplish this means of the mechanism-Which is shown m the accom anyin drawings and which is fully descri d an claimed hereinafter.-

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a partially diagrammatical endwiew of a car provided with my improved distributing apparatus; ig. 2 is a top-plan view ofthe distributing apparatusthe conveyer flights and other parts'bein omitted for convenience in illusig. 3 is an end-view of the conveyer, and Fig. 4 isa detail showing distributing chute. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail showi the outerportion4 of the conveyer; and 4ig. 6 is a detail showing the4 box, gear andy arrangement of the eccentric rack .viewed yfrom the from Fig. 5. ,l

As shown in the drawings, 5 re resents gpposite direction V-a support, preferably, a car mounte to run along the track 6'. This car is rovidedl ischarge" `with a hopper` 7 adapted to through a -gate 8 onto a eonveyer distributthe I ing apparatus-.9. -This conveyer ispivotally supported in the car so that the outer end may be raised and lowered, as by means of a cable 10 which passes up and over a sheave 11 on the mastj12 and then down to a windlass 13 mounted on the car in any convenient position. The'conveyer preferably consists .of two side-beams 14-14, aving a stationary trough 15. secured therein and extending Afrom the rear end to about the center of the conveyer. A second movable or telescoping trough-section 416 is also provided at the outer end of the conveyer, this trough being supported on strips or guides 17 which run on guideways on the beams 14. These guideways may comprise strips, but I prefer to use small roll-ers as shown at 18-18. This outer 'or telescopingsection slides under the inner or rigid section, as s hown particularly in Figs. 2 and 3. At the outer end of the movable section 16 is a distributing chute 19 which is provided with deflectors 20-20 in order to spread the coal over a considerable area.. The coal is moved by means of flights 21-21 mounted on a suitable chain or chains 22 passing overv sprocket-wheels 23 and 24 mounted -on shafts 25 and 26 at the ends of the beams 14. The driving and operating mechanism is as follows: The engine or power shaft 27 is provided with a sprocket-wheel 28 which drives a chain 29 which in turn drives a sprocket-wheel -30 mounted on a shaft-31 at about the center of the conveyer.- A second sprocket-wheel 32 on the shaft 31 drives a second chain 33 which in rturn drives a sprocket-wheel 34 on the shaft 26 and thereby operates the ,conveyer proper. In order to operate the movable or telescopmg trough 16 so that it may be driven in either direction, I have provided a secondshaft 35 adacent tothe shaft 31 and driven therefrom 7 y means of gears 36-37. At the -o posite ends of the shafts 31 and 35 are iction wheels 38 and 39 which are adapted to engage, at times, with a friction wheel 40 mounted on an intermediate shaft 41. This intermediate shaft is provided at its outer end with an eccentric box 42- and has an operatin lever 43 whereby, the eccentric may be turne to throw the wheel 40 from a central position into engagement with either of the wheels 38 or 39, as desired. As the wheels 38 and 39 turn in opposite directions, it is obvious that a reverse movement may I thus be given to the shaft 41. The shaft 41 is provided with a pinion 44 which engages with a rack 45 on the bottom of the telescoping trough 16, so that when the shaft is turned in one direction the trough will be the movable section of the trough and thereby distribute the coal evenly across the conveyer. The position of this operators platform is one of importance, inasmuch as it is necessary for him to be so situated as to be able to see the re or see under the smoke in order to properly distribute the-coal; this position also enables him to be observed by the engineer, so that the distributing car can be moved along the track according to the operators signals -so that the coal will be evenly distributed along the bank.

It is desirable that the operator be able to control the amount of the coal delivered to the conveyer, and for this purpose an operating rod 47 is provided for controlling the gate 8.

The operation of the apparatus will be readily understood from the foregoing description. The coal, being dischar ed from the hopper 7 into the trough 15, 1s moved along by means of the conveyer flights until it reaches the end of the movable section 16, when it slides down over the discharge chute 19 and is deflected for a considerable distance to each side of the conveyer; then, as the operator moves the section 1G back and forth, the coal is evenly distributed across the bank.

Various changes in the details of construe` tion may readily suggest themselves as coming within the scope of my invention, therefore I do not wish to be limited to the exact form of apparatus shown herein, but

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is l. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination with means for conveying the fuel, of a spreading discharge chute having diverging sides and having a plurality of deflectors projecting upwardly from the, bottom of said chute for spreading the coal evenly.

2. In an apparatus for distributing coal, the combination with a framework provided with a stationary trough and a movable trough adapted to coperate with a single movable conveyer mechanism, of substantially constant length and means for reciprocating said movable trough, the arrangement being. such that the discharge end of the movable trough approaches toward, and recedes from the outer end of the conveying mechanism as said trough is reciprocated.

3. In a coal distributing apparatus for ballast fires, the combinatmn of a car, a lateral conveyer mounted in said car, a movable bottom-trough along which the coal is moved by the conveyer flights at the outer,

end of said conveyer, and a rack and pinion .mechanism for movingl said trough.

4. In a coal distributing apparatusl forV ballast fires, the combination with a supporting car, of a lateral conveyer, a movable discharge and spreading device for said conveyer, for spreading the coal evenly over the re, operating means for moving said discharge device, said means being located at about the center of the conveyer, and an operators platform adjacent to said operating means.

5. The combination of a car, a hopper in said car, a lateral conveyer for conveying coal from said hopper, a movable distributing device at the outer end of said conveyer, means for moving said distributing device, said means being provided with a controlling lever at about the center of the conveyer, an operators platform adjacent to said controlling lever, and means whereby said operator can regulate the amount of coal discharged into said conveyer.

6. In a conveyer, the combination with a rigid trough-section, of a telescoping trough-section, a cha-in or chains with flights for movin material alon said trough sections, gui eways for`sai telescoping section, a rack on said telescoping section, a pinion engaging with said rack, a shaft on which said pinion is mounted, and means for turning said shaft in either direction.

7. In a conveyer, the combination with a stationary trough-member, of a telescoping trough-member, said telescoping member being provided with a rack, a pinion engaging with said rack, a shaft on which said pinion is mounted, a pair of shafts adjacent to said pinion shaft and turning in opposite directions, friction Wheels on each of said shafts, and means for throwing the friction wheel on the pinion shaft into engagement with either of the other Wheels when desired.

SAMUEL B. FLEMING. Witnesses:

O. J. THIME, W.y A. WEBSTER. 

